REAGAN TERM AT MIDPOINT

REAGAN TERM AT MIDPOINT; News Analysis

By STEVEN R. WEISMAN, Special to the New York Times

Published: January 21, 1983

WASHINGTON, Jan. 20—
At the midpoint of his term of office, Ronald Reagan and his advisers are turning to new themes, public relations gestures and initiatives to revitalize a troubled

Presidency, produce a sense of momentum and reach out to disaffected constituent groups. This is the assessment of key Administration aides who have acknowledged in recent weeks that Mr. Reagan is in political trouble because of a widespread perception that he is not grappling with high unemployment and other problems.

''There is nothing about our political difficulties that an economic recovery and an arms agreement with the Soviets wouldn't solve,'' a White House official said. ''Franklin Roosevelt remained popular because he was a pragmatist willing to try new things. That's the spirit we have to convey here.''

Patriotic Pep Rally

On the second anniversary of Mr. Reagan's inauguration, the White House today demonstrated its ability to inject campaign techniques into the business of governing. A result was a pep rally with patriotic music and declarations that ''we're on our way'' to recovery, as Mr. Reagan put it.

The President's themes for the day, embodied in a 118-page booklet released this morning, were similar to the ones he conveyed last year as the recession deepened.

His Administration's program, Mr. Reagan said, deserved credit for the good things that happened to the economy, such as the decline in inflation and interest rates. The bad things, such as unemployment, were described as the product of the policies of Mr. Reagan's predecessors. Casting for New Approaches

Immediately after the election last November, many Republican analysts said that this strategy had simply not proved convincing to enough voters.

Recently the Administration has been publicly casting about for new approaches - too publicly, in Mr. Reagan's view. Unauthorized disclosure of this process helped lead to the President's crackdown on news ''leaks'' two weeks ago.

Among the initiatives Mr. Reagan plans for his proposed 1984 budget, and for his State of the Union Message, are incentives for private businesses to hire the longterm unemployed, unemployed young persons, and those thrown out of work because of declining ''smokestack'' industries in the Northeast and Middle West.

In addition, Mr. Reagan plans to propose a program of tax breaks for people who save to pay for their children's college educations. Aimed at Restoring Economy

Several times recently, Mr. Reagan has sounded the theme of job training and the need to retrain America's work force to meet the demands of high technology. In Chicago last night, he said that ''every decision we make'' from now on would be ''aimed at restoring the economy.''

Other initiatives are planned for protecting and expanding the rights of women in insurance and pension plans, as well as in receiving child support and alimony payments.

It is not clear, however, that all these initiatives are to be much more than gestures. In interviews, granted on the condition that they not be identified by name, several aides have complained recently that Mr. Reagan was not doing more. An Administration aide described the initiatives as ''micro-solutions'' costing very little, adding that ''there's nothing breathtaking in any of these areas.''

''We should be moving faster to try to pull our 1980 coalition back together,'' said another Administration official. ''On labor, we're doing a much better job than before, but we need to move faster on labor, women, blacks, minorities, Hispanics.''

All of these initiatives, according to a White House official, are intended to send a signal also that Mr. Reagan is moderating his tone as President. In keeping with this, Mr. Reagan, who for two years has regarded himself as a rallying force for conservative ideals, today seemed to be boasting that attacks were coming at him from the right wing as well as the left. Problems in Arms Reductions

A related issue, according to some White House aides, springs from Mr. Reagan's problems here and in Europe with regard to the American negotiating posture on mutual nuclear arms reductions with the Soviet Union.

The recent shake-up in the Arms Control and Disarmament Agency, combined with reports of an informal accord between Soviet and American negotiators, later rejected by both sides, has produced fears here and abroad of ''disarray'' in the Administration's policy machinery.

A week ago, Mr. Reagan blamed this perception on the news media, asserting that it was reporters who were in disarray. Later, Larry Speakes, the White House spokesman, said Mr. Reagan was simply engaging in a ''light-hearted parody'' of recent news accounts.

Two processes seem to be going on with reference to arms control. On the first level, the negotiations with the Soviets are taking place in such secretive circumstances that Mr. Reagan's top political advisers say they are unaware whether any progress is taking place. 'Public Relations' Cited

In recent interviews, two Presidential advisers said they were almost desperately hoping for an arms agreement this year. One said he was uncertain whether the will to conclude such an agreement existed yet in the Administration.

On a second level, however, is the Administration's campaign to project its determination to reach such an accord. Mr. Reagan today was asked, in this context, what he could do to meet Soviet ''propaganda'' in the arms talks. ''The answer to that is not propaganda,'' he said. ''It's public relations.''

Accordingly, Administration aides expect Mr. Reagan to use his State of the Union and other speeches to renew his call for an arms agreement and reassure Americans and others of his continued optimism in this area.

White House officials acknowledged that the efforts to project a sense of leadership in control in both the economic and nuclear areas carries its own risks. If hopes and expectations are not fulfilled, they say, Mr. Reagan's re-election chances will diminish further.

Today some aides said that the President had been increasingly receptive to the call for new initiatives and new directions in recent weeks, although one official said some of the measures Mr. Reagan would propose had been germinating for several months. ''The President really does get involved when he wants to,'' said an Administration aide. ''He likes to lie dormant and then spring to life.''